Rules about vacation time
The ESA gives most people the right to either 2 or 3 weeks of vacation in a year. You earn your vacation by working 12 months for the same employer.
If you have worked less than 5 years for your employer, you get 2 weeks of vacation in a year.
If you have worked 5 years or more for your employer, you get 3 weeks of vacation in a year.
Earning your vacation
The 12 months in which you earn your vacation is called your “entitlement year”. Your employer decides when this year begins. It could be:
- when you start working for your employer, or
- on a different date.
For example, your employer might say that you earn your vacation in a calendar year. This means that you start earning vacation on January 1. If this happens, you also get vacation pay from your first day of work up to December 31.
Taking your vacation
Your employer has the right to decide:
- when you can take your vacation, and
- if you can take all of it at the same time.
If you get at least 2 weeks of vacation, your employer can decide whether you can take all your weeks of vacation in a row.
You do not have to take your vacation in periods of less than one week at a time. But you can if you want to. If you do, ask your employer in writing and get your employer to agree in writing.
Your employer must let you take your vacation within 10 months of when you earn it.
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